


The Most Awkward Semester Ever

by SDBookFan



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-01-30 10:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12651345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SDBookFan/pseuds/SDBookFan
Summary: Logan and Virgil have been assigned as partners for a massive English projects. The problem is that Virgil has a massive crush and is too gay to function, while Logan is convinced that his new project partner is terrified of him.





	1. Chapter 1

Virgil pressed his face to his pillow and groaned, his voice slightly muffled, “Why does the universe hate me?”

“And you say I’m the dramatic one.” Roman sat down on the bed beside him. “What’s gotten you worked up this time.”

“We’re doing a partner project for English,” Virgil replied, rolling over onto his side. “And I got paired with Logan.”

“Logan?” Roman replied, a smirk growing on his face. “As in the Logan you have a cr-“

“Yes, as in the Logan I have a crush on,” Virgil snapped, burying his face back in the pillow. “It’s a disaster.”

“Come now,” Roman declared, “No need to be such a Negative Nancy. Think of this as an opportunity! You can use it as a chance to woo him.”

“It took me five minutes to stop sputtering and remember my name after he introduced himself to me,” Virgil said, face still buried in the pillow. “He thinks I’m an idiot.”

“Ah,” Roman grimaced, “I can see where that would be embarrassing. But don’t give up! You still have many chances to impress him. What’s the project on?”

“It’s for the midterm,” Virgil replied, reluctantly dragging himself up into a sitting position, “We have to pick a poet from the 18th or 19th century, and do a study of their life and the way the era influenced them, as well as do an in depth analysis of one of their poems. Logan suggested we meet in the library tomorrow to pick the poet.”

“Well there you go,” Roman exclaimed. “If you do some research on potential poets now, you can impress him tomorrow with your preparation.”

“You think?” Virgil asked, a small flicker of hope lighting within him.

“Well if there’s one I thing I’m good at, it’s romance.” Roman flashed a smile at him. “Now, pull out your laptop, I’ll help you prepare.”

* * *

 

_Meanwhile_

“I think my partner in English is scared of me,” Logan said dully, staring apathetically at his notebook. “I went to introduce myself and he startled so badly that I was worried he’d fall out of his seat, and then it took me another five minutes to calm down enough to get his name. I ended up telling him we could meet tomorrow to start the project, I felt so bad.”

Patton frowned. “I’m sure he’s not scared of you,” he said encouragingly, “Maybe he’s just shy.”

“Maybe,” Logan acknowledged, “But I’ve seen him interact with our classmates, and he didn’t seem to have a problem. I just wish I knew why I scared him.”

“Well you can be a little intense sometimes when it comes to academics.” Patton hummed. “You do have a reputation for overachieving. That might have intimidated him. Especially if he’s feeling worried about measuring up.”

Logan paused. That was an excellent point. He sighed, now he really felt bad. The problem was that he wasn’t sure how to fix that. It’s not like he could say don’t worry about it, he’d take care of the project. He actually did want Virgil to share the work load with him. But telling him not to worry about measuring up to his level just sounded arrogant and insulting. Social skills may not have been his forte, but he knew that much.

“Hopefully it will be better tomorrow,” he said rubbing his forehead. “Maybe if I let him pick the poet, he’ll feel more comfortable?”

“That’s a great idea,” Patton chirped. “And you wouldn’t mind letting him pick?”

Logan shrugged. “I like many different poets,” he replied. “If anything, this makes it easier, since trying to pick between them would difficult. They’re all so interesting.”

“Well, there you go,” Patton smiled. “Oh! And I can make cookies for you take along with you! Cookies make everyone feel more comfortable.”

“Patton, we’re meeting in the library,” Logan said, bemused. “They don’t exactly allow us to eat there.”

Patton pouted. “Well I’ll make them anyway, you can offer to share them afterwards,” he declared.

“If you like,” Logan said, turning back to his notes. Then after a pause, he added on “Thank you.”

Hopefully things would work out, he really didn’t to spend the semester watching Virgil flinch from him.

* * *

 

_The next day_

Virgil stood tall and determined by the doors of the library. He and Roman had researched for over an hour on poets last night, and he felt prepared and ready. He was actually kind of looking forward to this project now actually. The Romanic poets seemed cool.

Anyway, the point was that he wasn’t going to embarrass himself this time.

“Hello, Virgil.”

Virgil squeaked as he jumped out of his skin. Distracted by his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed Logan coming up behind him.

 _So much for not embarrassing myself,_ he thought, as he turned around. Clearly his throat, and hoping that Logan wouldn’t notice how badly his cheeks were burning, he replied. “Uh-hey.”

Logan was staring at him. Fuck, he was probably regretting getting paired with such an idiot. Eager to move on, Virgil hastily continued. “W-want to go inside. I, um, I already did some research on a bunch of different poets last night, so I’m definitely ready to get started today.”

Logan sighed internally. It looked like Virgil was still nervous around him. Hoping to ease the nervousness, he pulled out the container Patton had shoved in his hands this morning, now even more grateful for his friend’s forethought.

“I’m definitely interested in your thoughts on the project,” he replied, careful to keep his tone light and non-threatening. “But before we go in, would you like a cookie? My friend Patton gave them to me, but there’s no way I can consume all of them myself.”

He held his breath, as Virgil peered at the cookies, hoping the other would understand the unspoken apology for scaring him.

“Thanks” Virgil eventually said, reaching out to take one. “I love chocolate chip.”

 _Success!_ Logan thought. Now they could work on the project without Virgil being so nervous around him. Pleased with his progress, he smiled at Virgil, and motioned towards the door.

“Shall we?” he asked.

But Virgil only ducked his head and nodded. Logan suppressed a frown. Okay, maybe they weren’t there yet. But he was determined to make the other other boy feel more comfortable around him. And, he did have a whole semester to figure it out.

Meanwhile Virgil was dying inside. _I cannot believe he fucking smiled at me,_ he thought desperately. _I am doomed, utterly doomed. How on earth am I going to last all semester without stumbling all over myself._

Both unaware of the other’s internal conflict, the two boys made their way into the library finding an open table to sit at. Once they had sat down, Logan pulled out his notes, prompting Virgil to do the same.

“So poetry?” Logan said awkward, unsure of how to make the situation more comfortable.

“Yes, poetry.” Virgil agreed, still staring determinately at the table instead of Logan. “Let’s do that.”

This was going to be a long semester.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan had come up with a brilliant idea.

Of course, he frequently came up with brilliant ideas, but for once this did not entirely fall into the realm of academia. This idea also held a social component.

He and Virgil had been continuing to meet for the past two weeks. They had decided to do their project on Lord Byron, as Virgil had seemed especially interested in him. Logan could admit he was a fascinating figure. And he was the father of Ada Lovelace!

So they had begun the preliminary research into Byron’s biography and time period, but had yet to decide on a poem. That was what this meeting was for. However, unlike their previous meetings, they would not be at the library.

Logan had noticed that despite his efforts to seem approachable and less intimidating, Virgil still seemed incredibly nervous around him. Thus Logan had concocted his plan.

On Friday, he had invited Virgil to come over to his house on Saturday for their next study session, instead of going to the library. His hope was that by meeting in a less formal setting, Virgil would relax more, and become more comfortable with him. To this end, he had also arranged several entertaining activities to partake in when they were done with studying.

He looked around the room. Everything had been set up. The kitchen was stocked with a variety of snacks. His notebooks were ready and waiting on the dining table, and the puzzles and other objects of entertainment had been placed in the living room. Now all he awaited was Virgil’s arrival.

He nodded to himself, satisfied. Yes, this was going to go perfectly.

* * *

 

This was going to be a disaster.

Virgil stared up the house in front of him. “I don’t think I can do this,” he said shakily. “Maybe I should just go home and crawl back into bed.”

Behind him, Roman sighed. “First of all, it’s two in the afternoon,” he said exasperated, “And secondly, I did not pick you up and drive you all the way here for you to chicken out and leave. Buck up, Debbie Downer. You’re going to do this.”

“And what if I screw this up and he hates me,” Virgil said through gritted teeth, trying not to let his knees shake. Why had he agreed to this? Oh, that’s right, Logan had smiled at him, and his brain had turned to mush. Something that would undoubtedly happen again, making him look even more stupid.

“Look, Virgil,” Roman sighed, drawing him out of his thoughts. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. But, I suppose, if it really gets bad, you can text me, and I’ll come and get you.”

Virgil looked down at his feet. Roman may have annoyed the heck out of him sometimes, but he actually was a really good friend. “Thanks,” he said softly.

“Yeah, whatever,” Roman said, waving him off, “Now get in there and have a wonderful date!”

Virgil flushed. “It’s not a date!” he shouted.

But Roman only laughed, getting back in the car. “Whatever you say, Virgil, whatever you say.”

Virgil took it all back. Roman was dead to him.

He turned back towards Logan’s house. Right, time to face the music.

He trudged to the door, feeling his mouth dry up and his palms begin to sweat. Why was he so useless around his crush? Still there wasn’t another choice. He knocked on the door.

Logan opened it almost immediately. (Had he been waiting by the door for him?

“Ah, Virgil, excellent,” he said, stepping to the side, “Please come in.”

Still feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, Virgil stepped inside. He glanced around. It seemed like an average home. Not too fancy, but still fairly nice.

“My parents are still at work,” Logan explained, closing the door, “So we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

“S-sounds good,” Virgil mumbled. So he was alone with Logan. That was …fine.

“Do you want something to eat?” Logan continued, “I have snacks in the kitchen.”

“I’m fine with whatever,” Virgil replied, carefully keeping his eyes on the floor. “I don’t- I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s not bother at all,” Logan assured him. “Come, the kitchen is this way.”

Virgil could only follow behind Logan helplessly. Why did he have to be so nice? If he had turned out to be a terrible person, this would have been so much easier.

* * *

 

Logan kept sneaking glances back towards Virgil. The other boy still looked uncomfortable and unsure. But he had only just come in. Logan was sure he could change that.

Upon reaching the kitchen, he went to the counter where he had placed the snacks earlier. Since Virgil hadn’t specified what he wanted, and he’d previously checked to see if the other had any food allergies, he grabbed the peanut butter filled pretzels, some watermelon slices, and since Virgil had liked them last time, chocolate chip cookies.

Careful to keep the plates balanced, Logan turned to face Virgil. “I have my notes out in the dining room, so we can sit there if you like?”

Virgil only nodded. He was still looking at the floor. Logan resisted the urge to frown. His plan _would_ work.

He quickly made his way to the living room, and after setting the snacks down, pulled out a chair for Virgil.

Once they had both sat down, Logan decided to engage in some small talk. Not something he normally did, but it might help Virgil relax. “So do you have any other plans for the weekend?”

Virgil seemed to struggle for words for a moment, before hesitantly replying, “No, not really. Just homework, I guess.”

“I don’t either,” Logan confessed. “I often find social interaction to be draining, so I tend to limit my engagement. Your company is quite pleasant though.”

It wasn’t a lie. Logan really did like spending time with the other. He was intelligent, not overly loud, and the sarcastic remarks he let slip when he relaxed made Logan chuckle. He just wanted the other to stop flinching from him.

It didn’t look like the words had been quite as reassuring as he’d hoped though, as Virgil looked ready to fall out of his chair.

“Oh-you-I-uh, thank.. you” Virgil finally said, sounding somewhat strangled. “You-you’re-uh- not. You’re pretty- pretty cool too. Should- should we work on poetry now?”

His voice had grown oddly high-pitched by the end of his sentence. Perhaps it was time to move onto the project. Clearly small talk was not Virgil’s forte either.

“Yes, let’s.” he agreed. “Have you any suggestions as to which poem we should analyze? I find it’s difficult for me to choose. There is of course the classic Byron poem ‘She walks in Beauty’, but I am also fond of the poem ‘Thou art Dead, as Young and Fair’. What are your thoughts?”

“Oh, well, I really liked ‘Darkness’,” Virgil mumbled. “A-and ‘Prometheus’, since it’s got all the references to Greek mythology and stuff.”

Logan ran through the poems in his mind. They were both dark in tone, which he wasn’t surprised by. Virgil did seem to enjoy that sort of thing, given his interest in the Romantic poets. As for the last sentence…

“Do you enjoy Greek mythology then?” he asked, eager to get the other to open up.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, “I do. I know it’s a little weird, but I just think those stories are just interesting, and kind of cool, I guess. I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter.”

Logan interrupted before Virgil could self-depricate anymore. “No, no, I agree. They are quite fascinating. I suggest we choose ‘Prometheus’ then, as it has something we’re both interested in.”

Virgil looked up, actually meeting Logan’s eyes, and there was even a hint of a smile on his face. “Sounds good,” he replied.

Logan managed to keep his expression neutral, but it was near thing. His plan was working. He truly was brilliant. Now to work on the poem.

For the next hour, they went through the poem together, working out it’s meaning, making notes on literary devices, and essentially setting the ground work for their more in-depth explication needed for the project.

As they went on, Virgil seemed to unwind a little more and had begun casually snacking on the food Logan had set out. At the moment, he was munching on a watermelon slice.

“I think we’re going to have to talk about, like, Christian influences too,” he was saying, “cause aside from the obvious Greek stuff, some of this sounds pretty Christian, with all the mentions of Spirit and things like that.”

Logan hummed. “I agree,” he said, “That would be a good place to tie in the cultural and social influences, as Christianity was quite a predominate influence in Western Europe at that time.”

“Sounds good,” Virgil muttered, setting down his watermelon, to make a note on his paper. As he did, Logan noticed that he had a watermelon seed stuck on his cheek.

“Oh, hold still,” he said absentmindedly, going to wipe it off.

After he had done so though, Virgil was staring at him as though Logan had just slapped him, his eyes wide, and his shoulders pulled up tightly around him. All of the progress he had made in getting the other to relax had been undone.

Logan scolded himself mentally. He shouldn’t have invaded the other’s personal space, clearly the fear hadn’t fully dissipated, and he had pushed the boundaries.

* * *

 

Internally, Virgil was just screaming.

_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Hetouchedme.WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?_

Wait, Logan had said something. He blinked, trying to refocus.

As if sensing his distraction, Logan repeated, “Are you alright?”

Virgil wasn’t sure what kind of noise he made in reply, but judging by Logan’s frown, it wasn’t a good one. Great, just great. Now the other was really going to hate him.

But then he spoke again. “Perhaps we should take a break. Would you care to work on a puzzle with me?”

Puzzle. Yeah, he could do a puzzle. Puzzles were good and helped his brain calm down. Not trusting himself to speak without any more embarrassing noises coming out, he just nodded.

“Great,” Logan replied briskly, “They’re in the living room, so let’s move there.”

Virgil silently followed Logan. When they got to the living room, Logan pulled out a pretty large collection of puzzles. Virgil’s eyes swept over them. There was everything from famous art pieces to Disney. It was impressive.

“You can pick one out,” Logan told him. Well, that didn’t put any pressure on him at all.

After spending another minute looking them over, Virgil finally settled on a galaxy puzzle. It looked pretty cool.

Logan smiled when he pulled it from the pile. “Good choice,” he said, “That’s one of my favorites. Come, we can set it up on the floor.”

Virgil moved to sit beside Logan so they were both leaning against the couch, puzzle spread out in front of them. Part of him felt like Logan was still too close for him to properly focus, but he pushed the feeling away. He was not going to make an idiot of himself again.

Swallowing his nerves, he began to look for the corner pieces. When he had found them, he held them out the other with a shaky smile. He could keep it together for a bit longer. He had just had to stay cool.

He was totally going to scream when he got home though.


	3. Chapter 3

Logan sighed, lying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His plan had somewhat worked. He _had_ gotten Virgil to relax around him. He just hadn’t been able to keep him relaxed.

But the fact that Virgil would still flinch from his touch was… distressing. Logan had never thought of himself as someone who could inspire such fear, and learning that he could was disquieting.

If only he could pin down the reason for Virgil’s reactions. He had been working off the assumption that it was his reputation in academics that had intimidated Virgil, but the more time he spend with the other, the less he was sure of that.

While it had taken some time to coax out from behind the stammering, Virgil had a quick wit and an intelligent mind. He had especially proven that today, Logan had found his point on the poem’s comparison of immortality and death, with death being upheld as superior, to be most fascinating.

Of course, with Virgil having proven his ability to keep up with Logan academically, the question remained. Why was he so afraid?

Logan sighed again. Sometimes he wished he was better at understanding other people and their emotions. But unfortunately, people were more complicated than equations. If only he had Patton’s ability to read people.

Logan sat up. That was it, Patton! If there was anyone who could figure out what was going on and make Virgil relax, it would be Patton. He could arrange some outing, social in nature, nothing academic in case that was the reason. Then Patton could help fix things.

Logan pushed himself of the bed, walking to his desk to grab his phone. He quickly pulled up Patton’s contact, drumming his fingers on the desk as he listened to it ring.

“Hello?”

“Patton,” Logan cut in. “I need you to accompany Virgil and me on a social outing.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Patton replied.

Logan explained further. “You are much more talented than I at reading people and putting them at ease. Therefore I have decided to enlist your help with Virgil. I though a social outing would ease any academic pressure he would be feeling, and with you there, he might stay relaxed this time.”

“I take it today didn’t go well then,” Patton said, sounding sympathetic,

Logan frowned. “Well, it was going well. But then I overstepped my boundaries and made Virgil uncomfortable again when I invaded his personal space. Afterwards, I sought to regain the progress I had made, but I fear I wasn’t quite successful.”

There was a pause before Patton spoke up again.

“You know, Logan,” he said, “I’m really proud of you for trying so hard with this, but you do know it’s alright if you can’t make Virgil feel comfortable around you, right?”

Logan stood up straighter, feeling indignant.

“I’m not going to give up,” he snapped. “For starters, having my English partner afraid of me is hardly conducive to good work. And secondly, I have come to enjoy his company. He’s remarkably intelligent, a good conversationalist, and as I learned today, makes an excellent partner for solving puzzles. I think we could be good friends, if he wasn’t so frightened all the time. I just, I don’t like having him scared of me.”

By the end of his rant, Logan’s voice had become softer and more despairing. He often struggled to make friends, there was a reason he rarely spent time with anyone aside from Patton. But he enjoyed his time with Virgil. So to have the other flinch from him was disheartening.

Patton sighed. “Alright, I can see you’re quite determined on this. And it is always nice to make new friends. So what were you thinking?”

“The movies,” Logan replied. “I’ve been meaning to see Kubo and the Two Strings before it leaves theaters, and with the movie being the main focus of the outing, I’m hoping Virgil will feel less pressured and therefore less nervous. I also plan to tell him to feel free to invite any of his friends so that he won’t feel outnumbered.”

“You want to take him to the moves?” Patton’s voice had a strange tone to it.

“Yes,” Logan said, “I was thinking next weekend. Are you free then?”

“Yeah, I’m free,” Patton said. He now sounded amused for some reason.

“Excellent” Logan replied, now feeling much more cheered by his plans. “I’ll text Virgil to determine a more precise time, then tell you the details. I appreciate your help.”

“Anytime,” Patton said. “Talk to you later.“

Logan hung up. With Patton’s help, things were sure to go well. Switching over to messages, he sent off a quick text. Hopefully, he’d get a reply soon.

* * *

 

Virgil was sitting in Roman’s car, his head buried in his knees.

Roman glanced over at him.

“Feeling any better, Hot Topic,” he asked, his voice warring between amused and concern.

“Mrrrrrrg,” Virgil groaned out.

“Right, that’s a no.” Roman sighed. “What even happened that has you this worked up?”

“I’m an idiot,” Virgil mumbled into his knees.

“Alright, not going to disagree with you there, but you have to give some more detail than that.”

Virgil lifted his head up to glare at Roman.

“Haha, very funny,” he said sarcastically, before looking back down at his knees. His fingers traced patterns on his jeans as he tried to bring his thoughts into some form of order.

“Logan touched me and I freaked out,” he finally said dully. “He was getting a watermelon seed off my cheek, and I panicked. He must think I’m a total weirdo.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Roman replied, but he didn’t sound all that confident in his words. Before Virgil could reply though, his phone buzzed.

Pulling it out, he saw it was a text from Logan. Groaning, he tossed his phone onto the seat. That was it, he knew it. Logan hated him.

“Is that him?” Roman asked. “Well, aren’t you going to look at it?”

“I’d much rather wallow in my misery,” Virgil grumbled. But after a brief pause, his curiosity got the best of him, and he unlocked the phone.

The message read: _Virgil, I was hoping you would be willing to join me next weekend on an outing to the movies. My friend Patton and I will be seeing Kubo and the Two Strings, and I would like it if you could join us. You are welcome to invite any of your friends as well. If next weekend is an inconvenient time, please let me know and we can reschedule._

Virgil stared at his phone.

“Well, what did he say?” Roman said impatiently, breaking Virgil’s reverie.

“Um, he invited me to go the movies with him and one of his friends next Saturday. Oh, and you can come too,” Virgil finally managed to choke out.

“That’s fantastic!” Roman cheered. “See, he doesn’t think you’re an idiot.”

“Or maybe he’s just taking pity on me,” Virgil shot back. “Plus what if this friend he’s talking about is actually his boyfriend. God, if he’s had a boyfriend all this time, I can never show my face in school again.”

“Calm down, Doctor Gloom.” Roman said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t go jumping to conclusions. Plus from what you’ve told me, the guy tends to be pretty blunt. If it was his boyfriend, he’d probably say so. Now, what’s going to happen is you’re going to text back yes, and we’ll have a great time. What movie is it anyway?”

“Kubo and the Two Strings” Virgil replied distractedly, staring at his phone. He bit his lip.

“You really think I should go?” he asked quietly, feeling his stomach churn.

Roman pulled over. Once the car was parked, he turned towards Virgil.

“Look,” he said gently. “You like this guy, and maybe this is a sign that he might just end up liking you back someday. But if you don’t go, you’ll never know. I know you don’t like taking risks, but sometimes you need to, so life doesn’t pass you by. This is one of those times, and as your friend, I’m not going to let you miss out on this.”

Virgil took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Roman… had a point.

“Fine,” he said. “But if this goes wrong, I will hold it against you forever.”

Roman just smirked at him. “Yes, but if it goes right, you’ll owe me forever.”

Virgil made a face at him, before turning back to his phone. Here went nothing.

Back at his house, Logan’s head shot up as his phone pinged. He pulled it towards him.

_I’m free on Saturday._


	4. Chapter 4

Virgil couldn’t stop fidgeting, his hands endlessly worrying at the edge of his hoodie.

“Remind me why this isn’t a bad idea again?” he said, his voice pitching a little higher than usual.

“Because if you leave now you’ll regret it forever,” Roman replied, rolling his eyes from where he was standing next to him.

“I mena I already regret most of my life,” Virgil muttered, “So..”

“Virgil” Roman said exasperatedly.

“Fine, yeah, whatever” Virgil waved his hand, as if trying to brush away his words. “Just remember to pinch me if I start babbling or sounding stupid.”

It was then that Roman reached out and pinched him. Hard.

“Hey!” Virgil cried out, springing away from Roman. “What the hell was that for?”

“You said to pinch you if you started sounding stupid,” Roman retorted. “And you being this nervous is pretty freaking stupid. You’re going to be fine, Virgil. Try to relax a little. It’s a just a movie.”

“Sometimes I really fricking hate- oh god, he’s here!”

Virgil’s focus abruptly switched from Roman’s annoying ways to the approaching figure. Logan was wearing jeans. Virgil had never seen him in jeans before, he always wore slacks or khakis to school before, somehow making them look ridiculously good. But now, with these jeans…

“Fuck, I am so gay” Virgil breathed out, still unable to take his eyes off of Logan. He could hear Roman stifling a laugh next to him though, so without looking he reached out and smacked him, hearing a yelp.

“There,” he said, “Revenge for the pinch.”

Before Roman had a chance to retaliate, Logan had reached them.

“Salutations, Virgil,” he said with a soft smile. And dear god, he was going to end up killing Virgil someday.

Logan continued.

“I wanted to thank you for coming out with me today,” he said warmly, “I’ve been meaning to see Kubo for a while, but it’s more enjoyable with companions. Speaking of which, this is Patton. Patton, this is Virgil.

“Pleasure to meet you, champ!” The cheerful looking boy beside Logan stepped forward, holding out his hand.

He continued, “I’ve heard a lot about you from Logan. It’s good to finally meet you face to face.”

Virgil’s mind raced. _Logan had talked about him? What had he said? Was it good? Oh, who was he kidding, it was probably bad. Fuck, Patton probably already thought he was an idiot._

Trying not to show any of this on his face, Virgil reached out and shook the hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he said quietly. “Ah, you were the one to make those cookies a little while back, right? They were-they were really good.“

Patton beamed.

“Aw, thanks!” he said. “I’m so glad you liked them! I love to bake, but I love sharing what I bake even more. Just let me know if you ever have a craving for baked goods. I can do more than cookies too. In fact, I do a mean chocolate cheesecake.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Roman broke in, stepping forward from where he had been behind Virgil. “But perhaps we should continue this conversation after we’ve gotten our seats. I’m Roman, by the way. Pleasure to meet you all.”

“Oh, well hello, Roman” Patton said cheerfully. “And yeah let’s go in. I hope we can get seats right in the middle. I’m so excited for this movie, the trailers looked so cool and I love animated movies!”

“I agree!” Roman said enthusiastically. “I especially love Disney movies. Tell me do you have a favorite?”

As they began to walk forward, Roman and Patton still chatting each other’s ears off, Logan fell in step with Virgil.

“I really am glad you agreed to come,” he said. “I hope you find the outing enjoyable.

“Um, yeah, sure I will” Virgil mumbled, hoping his face wasn’t too red. He could get through this though. Roman was right. It was just a movie. Just a movie.

He glanced back up again at Logan, and struggled to keep from blushing again. Why did he have to be so unfairly hot?

* * *

 

After they bought their tickets and made their way towards their theatre, Logan could see Virgil glancing at the concession stand.

“Did you want something?” he asked, wanting to make this experience as pleasant for Virgil as possible.

Virgil glanced up at him, looking startled.

“Uh, no, I’m okay,” he muttered. “We should just go sit down.”

“Are you sure?” Logan said, wanting to make sure before they reached their theatre.

“Yeah, I’m surprised,” Virgil’s friend Roman broke in. “You love movie popcorn.”

Virgil was now looking very uncomfortable and flustered, which was not what Logan wanted. So he made a decision.

“You two go on ahead,” he told Patton and Roman. “Save some seats for us. We’re going to get some snacks.”

With that, he grabbed Virgil’s hand and tugged him towards the concession stand.

“So we’re obviously getting popcorn,” he said thinking out loud, “But I might also get a soda as well. Do you want one? The salt from the popcorn might make you thirsty. Also I’ll get some chocolate for Patton, he loves sweet things.“

He looked back at Virgil, who was staring at Logan, slightly slack-jawed. When he saw Logan looking at him, he straightened up a bit.

“Um, that all sounds fine, I guess” he stammered out. “What-whatever you want.”

Logan nodded. Right, he’d get two popcorns, a drink for him, another for Virgil, and some chocolate for Patton. He wasn’t sure what Roman would want, so hopefully the popcorn would suffice.

It wasn’t until he’d almost reached the front of the line that he realized he’d never let of of Virgil’s hand. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the other boy, but Virgil didn’t seem like he was feeling uncomfortable or trying to shift away. Logan couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread inside his chest. It seemed like the other truly was becoming more comfortable around him.

It was with some regret that he had to break the hold once he’d placed the order so that he could pull out his wallet. But despite the broken grip, Virgil hadn’t moved away from him either. This was very promising and going much better than last time.

“Uh, hey how much should I pitch in?” Virgil asked uncertainly as Logan handed over his credit card.

“Nothing, it’s my treat,” Logan said absently, as he signed the receipt. “I am, after all, the one who invited you.”

“O-oh, but are you sure?” Virgil said. Logan could see him fidgeting. As he grabbed the chocolate and the drinks, he turned and smiled at him.

“Yes, I’m sure” he reassured Virgil. “Like I said, my treat. Now, can you carry the popcorn bags?”

“Yeah sure,” Virgil mumbled in reply. While he was keeping his eyes fixed downward, he didn’t appear to be truly distressed to Logan’s eyes. In fact, he could have sworn he saw a faint smile flicker across the other’s face.

Feeling content and very self-satisfied, Logan led the way to the theatre. He was going to see a movie he had been highly anticipating. He was accompanied by people he enjoyed spending time with. And best of all, he had finally made progress with Virgil.

 _Perhaps,_ he found himself considering, glancing yet again at the other, _we could even remain friends beyond the bounds of the project._

As he and Virgil settled down in the seats Patton and Roman has saved for them, the exact middle of the theatre as Patton had wanted, Logan let himself entertain the though further. Keeping his eyes discreetly fixed on Virgil, who was now curled up and absentmindedly eating popcorn as he watched the trailers. Yes, the thought of becoming friends was indeed quite a pleasant one.

**Bonus! The conversation Roman and Patton have while waiting in the theatre:**

Patton: So Virgil has quite the crush, doesn’t he?

Roman: Yeah, he’s pretty obvious about it. Has Logan figured it out?

Patton: Ah, Logan isn’t always the best with emotional and social, so no, he hasn’t. He thinks Virgil is afraid of him.

Roman: Well that’s better than what Virgil’s been worried about. He’s convinced Logan thinks he’s an idiot.

Patton: Oh no, he likes Virgil. That’s why he’s been trying to date him, even through he hasn’t figured out that’s what he’s been trying to do yet.

Roman: Ok, so these have been dates. I wasn’t sure.

Patton: Really? I didn’t think he was being that subtle.

Roman: Yes, but I have to rely on Virgil for information and he’s not the most reliable narrator when it comes to Logan.

Patton: That’s fair.


	5. Chapter 5

Virgil coughed, feeling his body ache with every motion. Groaning, he rolled over and pressed his face into the coolness of the pillow. Fuck, he felt awful.

He sniffed, reaching up a hand to wipe his nose. He was supposed to be meeting with Logan today for another study session, but then he’d come down with this stupid cold on Friday. He’d been hoping that it would have turned out to be nothing, but it had only gotten worse. Now he couldn’t even drag himself out of bed, his entire body aching and exhausted.

There was no way around it. He was going to have to cancel. Letting out another groan, he forced himself to sit up a little so he could grope around on his bedside table and grab his phone. Not wanting Logan to hear his currently scratchy voice, he opted to text.

_hey sorry but have to cancel for today_

_feeling sick_

_meet up on monday instead?_

As Virgil waited for a response, he let himself sink back into the pillows, trying to ignore the pounding sensation behind his temples.

It didn’t take too long for his phone to buzz.

Squinting at the screen, which right now seemed stupidly bright, he read the reply.

_That’s sounds unfortunate. What illness have you contracted? And please do not trouble yourself about the work. Your health takes priority._

Why did this guy have to be so stupidly nice?

Virgil sighed, once again reminded of the futility of his crush, and began to text back.

_im fine its just a cold and still feel bad_

_ill make it up on monday i swear_

This time the reply was almost immediate.

_Cold’s are far from pleasant. So please, just allow yourself to rest and recover without expending energy over worrying about the project. Such anxiety only hinders your recovery. I hope you feel better soon. I assume your parents are taking care of you?_

Virgil let a small smile tug on his lips. Logan had a point, but that didn’t really change much. Worrying was what he did. He decided to point that out to Logan.

_worryings kind of my thing dude_

_and nah my parents are on a business trip_

There was a pause, but then his phone buzzed again, this time with call from Logan. Puzzled, and a little concerned, Virgil answered.

“Hello,” he rasped out, stifling another cough.

“Salutations,” Logan replied curtly, “And I’m sorry to bother you while you’re unwell, but your last message concerned me. Is there anyone else there with you right now? Your friend Roman perhaps?”

“I’m fine,” Virgil said, this time not quite managing to muffle his coughs.

“Your coughing indicates otherwise,” Logan said dryly. “And you didn’t answer my question. Do you currently have someone taking care of you.”

Virgil sighed.

“No,” he said, “But it’s no big deal. It’s just a cold. I’ll get over it in no time.”

“Hmm” Logan replied. He didn’t sound convinced. But Virgil didn’t know what to tell him, and he was too tired and dizzy to come up with any clever arguments. So instead he just let his aching eyes drift shut, as he waited to see if Logan had anything else he wanted to say.

Then Logan spoke up once more.

“I’m coming over,” he announced. “I’ll be there in less than an hour.”

Virgil felt his heart stop.

“What?” he spluttered. “What do you mean-“

But in his haste to get the words out, he had irritated his throat, and thus got sent into another coughing fit. As he struggled to get his breathing back under control, Logan continued.

“Leaving you on your own would be irresponsible,” he explained. “And as I can help, I feel I should. I’ll pick up supplies on my way over. Try to sleep if you can.”

With that he hung up, leaving Virgil staring at his phone in horror and confusion. Great, just great. The last thing he wanted was his crush seeing him when he looked like the extra in a low budget zombie movie. But there wasn’t anything he could do. Logan had sounded pretty determined.

Tossing his phone back on his bedside table, Virgil let himself flop down. Maybe he should take Logan’s advice and get some sleep. Heck, maybe this would all turn out to be some fever dream. He hoped so.

* * *

 

Logan forced himself to stay calm and to not clench his hands on the steering wheel. He wasn’t sure why he was so agitated, but ever since he had seen the texts from Virgil, he’d felt his stomach churning with worry.

Part of him could admit that his reaction had been somewhat disproportional. It wasn’t as though a cold would be fatal, after all. But after learning that Virgil was sick and alone in his house, he knew he couldn’t do nothing.

Besides, he knew from his relationship with Patton that such a reaction was perfectly normal in a budding friendship. After all, the last time he was sick, Patton had brought him soup along with his homework, and had stayed and chatted with him for several hours. This was much the same.

He glanced at the bags next to him in the seat. He’d hoped he’d brought enough supplies. He had gone to the grocery store almost immediately after he finished his call with Virgil to pick up all the supplies he though might be necessary.

He had, naturally, bought chicken noodle soup, canned, sadly, he didn’t know how to make it from scratch. He made a mental note to practice that sometime in the future. It seemed to be a valuable skill to have. He had also bought two types of juice, crackers, three types of cold medicine, tissues, four kinds of tea, and a jar of honey. He really hoped it would be enough.

He could see Virgil’s house ahead. He’d only been here once before, after he’d dropped Virgil off after the movie two weeks ago. He and Virgil had ended up spending a few hours in a nearby bookstore after the movie was over, so Patton had gone home with Roman, and he’d offered to give Virgil a ride.

As he pulled into the driveway, he paused. He hoped that Virgil was well and coherent enough to answer the door. That was something he hadn’t considered. As he rang the doorbell, he fidgeted slightly, shifting his weight from foot to foot. There was no sound of the door opening, but there was a beep from his phone. Pulling it out, he saw there was a text from Virgil.

_key under flowerpot right of door_

Ah, that was much easier.

Finding and fishing out said key, Logan unlocked the door and stepped inside. He looked around for a moment. He hadn’t actually gone in last time. It was smaller than his home home and with darker furniture, but still quite nice. Still this was no time to sit around and stare. He assumed Virgil’s room was upstairs, so that’s where he went. Upon reaching the second level, the sound of coughing was more than enough to guide him.

As he stepped into the room, Logan let his gaze settle on Virgil. He truly did look miserable, pale, with flushed cheeks and a red nose, the circles beneath his eyes looking even darker than usual. Setting down his supplies. Logan made his way to the bed.

Placing a hand on Virgil’s too hot forehead, he asked gently, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Virgil said sniffing. “You’d didn’t have to come all the way out here. I know you’re busy a lot.”

“Nonsense,” Logan said briskly. “It’s no hardship at all. And I had no plans for today besides spending it with you. That we’re not working on the project, but rather helping you recover is only a minor change.”

He hesitated, clearing his throat, before continuing, a little less sure.

“Besides,” he said quietly. “I- I’d like to think we’re friends, and friends help each other. Is that not correct?”

He hoped he was right.

Virgil looked startled.

“Wha- uh- yeah, of course we’re friends, I’d love to be friends” he babbled, before his voice gave way to coughing.

Logan couldn’t help but feel relieved, although also oddly unsatisfied. He wasn’t sure why, Virgil’s friendship was more than pleasant. But the coughing reminded him of why he’d come, so he went and fetched his supplies.

“Here,” he said, handing Virgil one of the cold medicines, the one designed to especially help with coughing. “Take this, and I have some juice to help it go down. Do you prefer apple or grape?”

“Um, grape” Virgil replied, eyeing his bag, as Logan poured the juice into an empty cup sitting beside Virgil’s bed. “How much stuff did you buy?”

“Only what I though might be necessary,” Logan explained. “Now while you wait for the medicine to kick in, I’ll go downstairs and start on the soup, and some tea to soothe your throat. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay, sounds cool” Virgil mumbled, struggling pills out of their container.

Taking pity on him, Logan plucked the container from his hands, and opened it himself.

“Here,” he said, handing it back. “Much easier.”

“Thanks” Virgil replied popping the pills in his mouth. “Hope these work.”

Giving Virgil a small smile, Logan nodded.

“I, too, hope that they’ll be effective,” he said. “I’ll go to make the soup and tea now, but text me if you need anything.”

Virgil nodded as Logan stood up. He then paused a moment, looking down at Virgil. When Patton had come over while he was sick, he had done one other thing. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to try it, Logan leaned down.

“Feel better,” he murmured, his lips pressed gently to Virgil’s forehead.

Pulling back, he nodded at Virgil once more, before turning and striding out of the room.

As he walked down the stairs, he noted that he was feeling a little flushed. He hope he wasn’t coming down with something.


	6. Chapter 6

Virgil was going to die.

He really wished he was exaggerating, but he, honest to god, felt like he was going to die. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground, counting the cracks in the sidewalk in a desperate attempt to keep himself distracted.

It was then Roman nudged him, dragging his attention away from the ground.

“You feeling alright, Corpse Bride?” he asked. “You look, well, being perfectly frank you look like a corpse. What’s up?”

“It’s my English project,” Virgil muttered, feeling his throat tighten.

“I thought that was going better,” Roman said puzzled, his eyebrows knitting together. “You and Logan seem to be getting along fine. I mean, he even came over to your house last week and took care of you! Although I am still disappointed you never thought to call and tell _me_ you were sick.”

“It’s not Logan,” Virgil replied, hands clenching into fists. “It’s the actual project. We have progress report due today, and we have to present it in front of the entire class.”

His voice cracked on the last part, letting the distress he was so desperately trying to hide leak through.

“Oh,” Roman said softly, before stepping in front of Virgil and grabbed his shoulders, stopping them from moving forwards.

“Hey,” Roman said firmly, ducking his head down to look Virgil in the eye. “You’re going to do fine. I’ve heard you talk about the project, you’re probably way ahead of at least half your class.”

“I know that,” Virgil snapped. “it’s just…”

“I know,” Roman replied, sounding sympathetic. “You don’t like being on stage. But hey, remember, you’re not up there alone. If you freeze or something, Logan’s right there to pick up where you left off.”

“I can’t make him all do the work!” Virgil hissed, horrified at the thought.

“Okay, but you have been doing the work” Roman said. “This isn’t you slacking off, it’s you trying not to traumatize yourself. He’s a smart guy, I’m sure he’s read about phobias at some point in his life. Just talk to him before class.”

“I’ll think about it,” Virgil conceded. He didn’t really relish the idea of telling his crush just how pathetic he was, but it was better than messing up in front of everyone and making himself look stupid with no explanation whatsoever.

Roman clapped him on the shoulder, and then slinging his arm around Virgil, the two resumed their walk to school.

* * *

 

Virgil bounced his leg up and down, his fingers tap-tap-tapping around the desk. Logan wasn’t here.

Sure, class hadn’t begun yet, but Logan was always early. Virgil had been hoping to catch him coming into the classroom, so he could explain his problem with public speaking. but Logan wasn’t here, and class would start soon.

Virgil had texted him a few times, but there had been no response. Just as he was about to get up and go find Logan, class be damned, he walked in.

Virgil tried to stay calm and hide some of the relief on his face as Logan came towards him.

“Where were you" he hissed. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t that successful at hiding his emotions.

“My apologies,” Logan replied, sounding truly remorseful. “There was an accident near my house and I was caught in traffic.”

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Virgil said, a little bit of the tension he was feeling leaking out.

Logan winced.

“Ah,” he said, “I understand your concern, I was distracted by ensuring that Patton didn’t get lost trying to take the back roads. But I am here now, and ready for our presentation.”

Virgil swallowed hard.

“Yeah, about that,” he began, but before he could continue, he was cut off my the teacher walking into the classroom.

“Alright, class,” she called out. “Settle down, we have a lot of presentations to go through today, so we don’t have time to mess around.”

“We’ll talk later,” Logan said, turning to face the front of the room, and leaving Virgil to panic. This was not good.

Virgil stared down at his hands, and began taking in slow and controlled breaths, maybe, if he was lucky, he could still make it through this.

_Please, please let me make it though this_

* * *

 

As Logan stood outside the bathroom, he could admit to himself, he wasn’t sure what to do, nothing about this day was going right.

First he’d been flustered this morning, trying to find all of his notecards for the presentation. Then there had been the traffic accident on his route to school almost making him late. And now this.

Logan had noticed that Virgil had seemed nervous when they stood up to present, but that hadn’t really surprised him given that he’d seen just how skittish and shy Virgil could be. He’d done his best to reassure him as they walked the front, but clearly those reassurances had been inadequate, given that halfway through the presentation, Virgil had been dead white, and shaking too hard to hold up his note cards.

Logan had taken over from there best he could, but Virgil had only seemed to get worse, eventually bolting for the bathroom. Logan had quickly summed up the rest of their presentation and then asked to follow him. Thankfully the teacher had agreed.

But now staring at the bathroom door, Logan felt unsure of himself. Was this really the right course of actions? Would he be able to help, or would he only make things worse?

Logan hated the idea that he might cause Virgil further distress. However, there was no one else he could call in that moment, both Roman and Patton being in class, and he didn’t want to leave Virgil alone.

Taking a deep breathe, he pushed open the door. He could see Virgil in the corner, wedged between the wall and a sink. Slowly, trying not to make too much noise, he crept towards him.

Once he’d gotten close enough to hear Virgil’s ragged breathing and see the tremors running through him, he sank to the floor, trying not to think about the state of it too hard.

“Virgil?” he said gently. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

But Virgil just kept shaking, his hands clenching and unclenching at random intervals. Logan wracked his brain for anything he’d ever read on panic attacks, for that’s what he was fairly sure this was. Finally something came to him.

“Virgil,” he said, making sure to keep his voice as calm and soothing as possible, “I’d like you to try and breath with me as I count. Just do the best to match my count as best you can.”

He then began to count, keeping an eye on Virgil to see it it was working. It was. While Virgil’s breaths were still ragged, they had slowed slightly, and it seemed like the longer Logan went on counting, the more control he had over them.

Once he felt that Virgil was calmed down sufficiently, Logan stopped counting, content to just sit with Virgil until he had fully recovered. Looking at his still rather distressed form, Logan felt his chest ache.

_I wish I could hug him._

Logan blinked, rather startled at the thought that had come out of nowhere. He normally wasn’t prone to random bouts of affection, that was normally Patton’s area. Besides, touching Virgil at this time would be heavily ill-advised given that he had reacted to badly to physical contact even when not in the midst of a panic attack.

So dismissing the thought, Logan turned his attention back to Virgil, who was now wiping at his face.

“I take it you’re all right now,” he said awkwardly. “Or at the very least in better straits?”

“Y-yeah, ‘m, I’m okay,” Virgil replied, although his halted, stuttering voice contradicted that statement. But Logan didn’t comment on that.

“I’m glad,” he said, “It was… distressing to see you in such a condition.”

Virgil cringed.

“I’m, ‘m so s-sorry,” he cried out, the words tumbling out of him, “I-I d-didn’t mean to mess up. I just, I just p-panicked, and, and then it got _worse_ , and, y-you were there, and I ju-and I just, c-couldn’t stop, and I’m so so, s-sorry!”

“Woah, hey, it’s alright” Logan replied alarmed, and worried that Virgil was about to send himself into another panic attack. “Everything’s fine. I finished our presentation and given the amount of work we’ve done so far, I have no doubt we’ll get top marks. Just breathe.”

Virgil didn’t seem to wholly believe him, huddling in on himself, and refusing to meet Logan’s eyes. Logan bit his lip, he didn’t know how to fix this.

But then Roman burst through the bathroom doors.

“Virgil!” he called out anxiously, striding over to them. “One of your classmates came and got me once the break started. Are you alright? Here, I have chocolate, have some.”

Seeing Roman begin to fuss over Virgil, Logan quietly picked himself up and left the bathroom. Better to leave this to someone who actually seemed to know what to do.

Still, part of him wanted to stay, to stay with Virgil until he knew he was alright. Maybe even trying to make him laugh, or at least coax a small smile out of him…

Logan shook his head rapidly. This was getting ridiculous. What was going on with him?

A hand came up and touched his shoulder. He spun around, Patton.

“Hey Logan,” Patton said, looking a little worried. “I was with Roman when he heard. Virgil alright?”

“I, I don’t know,” Logan said, agitation stirring within him. “I managed to calm him down somewhat, but then he seemed to be descending right back into panic again, and I had no idea how to help. And on top of that, I seem to be getting distracted with strange thoughts, wanting to hug him or make him smile, even though such thoughts were hardly helpful or relevant when dealing with a panic attack.“

“You wanted to make him smile” Patton repeated slowly.

“Yes!” Logan said, all his confusion bubbling out of him. “I don’t understand it.”

Patton gave him a long look before sighing.

“Okay,” he said, “So I wanted to wait for you to figure this out by yourself, but obviously that’s not happening. Logan, how do you feel about Virgil?”

“I don’t understand the question?” Logan said. “Currently I’m rather worried about him.”

“No,” Patton shook his head. “I mean, do you like him?”

“Well, of course,” Logan replied, feeling more confused by the minute. “I consider him my friend, the same as you.”

“Yes, but is he really the same as me?” Patton asked. “Do you feel the _exact_ same way about both of us?”

“Patton,” Logan stated firmly. “Please stop dancing around the topic and speak plainly.”

“Have you ever considered that you might have a crush on Virgil?” Patton blurted out.

It took a minute before Patton’s words sunk in, but once they did, Logan felt his head begin to spin.

A crush on Virgil. This, this explained so much. Logan almost felt ashamed of himself for not realizing earlier, but feelings were never his department. Of course, he had a crush on the shy, snarky kid with a love for poetry. How could he not? It was Virgil.

But then a memory rose up in his mind, and his blood turned to ice.

_And, y-you were there_

“I can’t have a crush on Virgil,” he announced. “It would be ill-advised.”

“Um, Logan” Patton said looking doubtful, “I don’t think that’s how crushes work.”

“No, you don’t understand,” he said shaking his head. “When, when I asked Virgil about the cause of his panic attack, one of the things he said was that I was there. I-I thought we’d been making progress, but apparently I was wrong if I am still so intimidating to him that my very presence helps send him into a panic attack.”

“Logan,” Patton began, his eyes wide, but Logan cut him off.

“No, Patton,” he said tersely. “There’s nothing to be done. I cannot have a crush on Virgil, because, well because it’s quite clear such a thing would never be reciprocated. There’s nothing else to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, you’ve given me quite a lot to think about.”

With that, he turned around and strode away down the hall. He was fine. They only had a few weeks left of the project, and Logan would endeavor to make them as painless as possible. Once that was done, he’d make sure to stay away from Virgil, so, so as not to cause him anymore distress.

He ignored the burning sensation behind his eyes, and the dull ache in his chest. He was _fine._


End file.
